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Parenting knowledge and its role in the prediction of dysfunctional parenting and disruptive child behaviour
Author(s) -
Morawska A.,
Winter L.,
Sanders M. R.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00929.x
Subject(s) - dysfunctional family , psychology , developmental psychology , positive parenting , psychological intervention , low confidence , child rearing , clinical psychology , intervention (counseling) , social psychology , psychiatry
Background There is a paucity of research on the relationship between parental knowledge, parenting and parenting self‐efficacy, and some inconsistencies have been reported in the literature. Method Parent knowledge of effective parenting strategies was assessed among 68 parents from a non‐clinic sample, who also completed questionnaires relating to parenting confidence, quality of parenting and child behaviour. Results Parents with greater knowledge tended to be less dysfunctional, and reported significantly higher education and income levels. Parenting confidence explained a significant proportion of the variance in reported frequency of disruptive child behaviour while knowledge did not independently contribute to the prediction. However, the relationship between parenting confidence and dysfunctional parenting was moderated by the level of knowledge. There was a stronger negative relationship between confidence and dysfunctional parenting when knowledge level was low than when it was high. Post hoc analyses indicated that the relationship between parenting knowledge and disruptive child behaviour was moderated by the level of parenting dysfunction. Parenting knowledge and reported frequency of disruptive behaviour were positively related when the level of dysfunction was low, but were unrelated when it was high. Conclusions Parents with low levels of knowledge and confidence in their parenting may be at greater risk of dysfunctional parenting and might benefit from interventions designed to enhance both knowledge and confidence. Results are interpreted in relation to inconsistencies with previous research and implications for future methodologies.